Simple Food ~ Sane Life

Are the muscles in your body speaking to you lately? Are you cramping their style with your exercise?

I constantly read about how to remedy sore muscles, AFTER the fact.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the right balance of foods in your body to support your muscular system as you stretch it beyond its current limits? This is so simple!

Think about the muscles in your body. Most of us associate protein with musculo-skeletal issues. Protein provides great building blocks for muscle, but here we are talking about fueling for a smooth ride.

There are 5 key elements—and protein isn’t one of them:

1. Water: hydration is essential with all bodily functions. This vital component assists in electrolyte distribution. This is the oil in a car.
2. Potassium: essential for the nerve terminals and muscle twitches, starting and stopping the motions of the muscle. This would be similar to the starter.
3. Carbohydrates: fuel for the muscles. Coupled with oxygen, it is the fuel injection for the duration of the skeletal/muscle movement. Gasoline. You pick—regular or unleaded!
4. Calcium: along with magnesium, calcium is the operator for the contraction of the muscle. It slows the muscle down. This is why calcium supplements and calcium-based antacids can cause constipation; they slow down the smooth muscle in the intestines. The gas pedal.
5. Magnesium: Relax! Mag’s here! Magnesium relaxes the contraction, allows the movement of the muscle. It is coupled in the striated skeletal muscle for tear and repair as we stretch the current limits of our body. The brake pedal.

Foods that encompass all these elements are water-based foods (fruits and leafy green vegetables) and root vegetables. These two categories of food are about flow in the earth and also in the body. We often stretch to soothe the cramp of sore muscles.

So ’stretch it forward’ by fueling your muscles with fruits, leafy green vegetables and root vegetables to glide comfortably through your days!

Peace,

Karyn